


Sleepy and Snowing (Underneath a Colored Sky)

by EverestV



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Time Travel, Chloe is a bounding puppy when excited and you can't convince me otherwise, F/F, I really liked how this one ended actually, No Storm in Arcadia Bay, just two dorks on a roadtrip during winter break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-21 06:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9535712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverestV/pseuds/EverestV
Summary: Prompts: roadtrip AU, “it’s literally snowing but you dragged me out to see the fireworks”, “it’s so cold my mouth is numb, you should kiss me before we get frostbite”





	

Chloe forced herself to walk the last few steps through the motel door and into their room. She dropped the bags she was carrying and collapsed heavily against one of the beds with a low groan. “I could sleep for a fuckin’ week,”

“I said we could have stopped hours ago,” Max rolled her eyes as she followed inside and closed the door behind her. “Or you could have let me drive for a bit...”

“Over my dead body. Literally. You would kill me.”

“Oh come on, I’m not  _ that _ bad.”

Chloe picked up her head from where it was buried in the sheets, making Max pause in the middle of taking off her shoes. “The last time you were behind the wheel, you were in reverse instead of drive, hit the garbage can we were using for parallel parking practice so hard it rolled down the hill for a good 10 minutes, somehow made a hole in it so we had to get a new one, and it scratched up the car’s paint job. You’re just lucky the thing was empty.” She dropped her head again. “You’re a shit driver, Mad Max, and you would trash my truck. You know you can’t argue with that.”

“Well, gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Anytime,” Chloe flashed her a feeble thumbs-up.

Shaking her head, Max stood and went over to search through her bag. “Whatever. I’m gonna head in and wash up first, alright?”

“Okay.”

Max glanced in the direction of the muffled voice. “Are you gonna sleep like that? In clothes with legs hanging off the bed, outside of the blankets?”

“I’m waiting on  _ you _ .”

“On me?”

Chloe dragged herself upright.  _ She’s giving me that squinty, narrow-eyed look she gets when she has a headache or is very stoned or just incredibly tired. I’m gonna be optimistic and go with tired. _ “I’m too cold to sleep in separate beds. So yeah, I’m waiting on you. Anyway, I’m not gonna face motel bed sheets alone.”

“You know, I could always just turn the heat up if it really is an issue...”

“No. I want to share the bed with you. So can’t you hurry it up a little?”

Max smiled softly at her, feeling the urge to brush blue strands away from blue eyes. “Fine, fine. At least take off your coat and boots, okay? Get comfortable, miss ‘sleep-for-a-week’.” She called over her shoulder as she headed into the bathroom. Halfway through brushing her teeth, she heard a hollow boom. And then hurried footsteps before Chloe threw the door open.

“Did you hear that?” she asked with eyes bright and her weight shifting up and down on the balls of her feet.

Max spat into the sink before answering. “Was that fireworks?”

“Yeah, think so!”

“In the middle of December?”

Chloe tug at her hand. “Maybe they’re practicing for New Year’s, who the hell cares? C’mon, c’mon, we have to watch.”  _ Like a little kid, like a five-year old. She’s such a dork. _

“Okay, alright, just let me— give me a second here.”

“I’ll get the blankets!” Chloe was already out the door.

“Blankets?” Max hurriedly wiped her mouth, trying to ignore the leftover toothpaste on her tongue, and followed. “Chloe, what are you...”

“We could watch them out on the truck bed. Put down some blankets and pillows and it’ll be perfect. Where did you put the twizzlers?”

“Chloe, it’s—” Max glanced out the window, catching a glimpse of a green burst that sparkled like glitter at the end. Her favorite kind. “It’s snowing. It’s gonna be freezing. Let’s just watch from the window.”

“Not a chance, buzzkill.” Chloe was systematically filling her arms with blankets and pillows and bags of candy and struggled to get the front door open. “Get your shoes on, hurry up! We’ll miss it.”

Max started tying up her laces and zipping up her coat with a sharp scoff. “I thought you could sleep for a week.”

“Great idea. After the fireworks. Come on!” Chloe was outside already, walking backwards, grinning broadly, fireworks shooting off behind her. She was glowing, the sky was glowing, and the snow was shimmering all around her. Like a halo. Just for a second.  _ You don’t say it enough, how grateful you are for her. You need to fix that. Give in. _

Max grinned back. “I’m coming.”

She waited until they were settled beneath blankets and on top of others, tucked in tight and secure, arms wrapped around each other. She waited until Chloe asked her, a twizzler poking out of her mouth like a cigarette, “Comfy?” Max glanced up at the sky filled with purples and reds and blues and greens and pressed closer into Chloe’s neck, strands of blue hair tickling at her nose.

“Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love this.”

Chloe hummed softly, squeezing around Max’s shoulders. “Good. Me too. Except...”

“What?” Max shifted just enough to glance up at her.

“It’s really fucking cold out here.”

Max shoved at her side and turned to look up at the sky again. Chloe laughed. “You little shit, I  _ told _ you it would be. You seriously can’t be complaining right now.”

“My hands are going numb...”

“Well get them under the  _ blankets _ ,” Max said, tugging at Chloe’s hands and keeping their fingers intertwined.

“My nose too.”

“You’re gonna have to suck it up then. Can’t do much about that.”

“Are my lips blue?”

Max rolled her eyes, but kept her gaze trained up at the sky. “No, just your hair. You’re fine.”

“You sure? They feel pretty cold...”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And lonely.”

Max sat up, letting the blanket slide off of them, but Chloe didn’t complain. She had that dumb smirk on her face and Max was trying really hard not to laugh. “You’re a complete dork.” she said, but leaned down all the same, kissing Chloe with a gentleness that was automatic. Max always felt a kind of responsibility for giving Chloe all the soft things she could, all the quiet moments and light touches. She felt it like a debt that could never be paid in full, but she had to try. She needed to make it apparent that slow and steady and a little at a time was very possible and maybe even necessary. Fireworks sounded all around them. Max was determined to muffle them, not play into their hands, by touch alone.

But Chloe just cupped the back of Max’s head and kissed back like it was the last time she ever would, all heat and urgency and a little scrape of teeth. Max brushed cold fingers across colder cheeks to slow it down, forced in breaks to breathe, waited until the hand that clutched at her hip was gently resting against her waist. It might have been a little warmer with the blanket, she realized, as a cold draft made its way down her neck and into her coat. She pulled away, nudged their noses against each other, and settled back into Chloe’s arms.

“You’re making me miss the fireworks. Not cool.”

Chloe’s scoff turned into a soft laugh as she pulled the blankets back around them. “It’s not cool that you care more about the fireworks than me.”

“It was  _ your  _ idea to watch them,”

“Details,”

“Just shut up and pay attention, okay?” Max pointed at a big gold one. “See, those kind are my favorite. The way they glitter at the end? Like jazz hands after a big Broadway number. It’s hilarious.”

Chloe nodded and it was quiet for a moment. “I like that kind, those blue ones? How it bursts for a second and then all the sparks chase each other in different directions. They’re cool. I’ve always wondered how those work.”

“Maybe you should look into that.”

“Maybe I should.” Chloe nudged Max’s shoulder with a smile. “We could put on our own show for New Year’s, make them ourselves, do it in the woods somewhere. I mean, it’s just rocket science. Piece of cake, right?”

“Or we could just buy some.”

“Shit, you’re just a total buzzkill today, huh?” Chloe leaned over and nuzzled Max’s hair. “Anyway, you said you wanted to be back in Washington for Christmas, right? Arcadia Bay and then Seattle?”

Max nodded. “Yeah. It’s been so long, my parents would love to see you. That’s okay, right?”

“Sounds awesome. Just wondered if you wanted to stay there for New Year’s too. Don’t they shoot the fireworks out of the Space Needle?”

“Do  _ you  _ want to stay?”

Chloe shrugged, biting at her bottom lip. “I don’t know, I mean, whatever you want. I just like being out on the road like this. Figured we could still get a couple days in after the holidays before you have to go back to school. That’s all.”

“Where do you want to go this time?”

“Maybe south? California might be nice after all this snow.”

“Says the girl who specifically wanted to roadtrip to Yellowstone and then circle around the long way back through the mountains. In the winter.”

“What did I say this would be before we left?”

“Something about some grand adventure.”

“A  _ magnificent _ adventure for the ages. But once it’s done, we’re gonna be hella exhausted of snow.” Chloe leaned in and kissed at Max’s neck, more a tickling nibble that made the shorter girl squirm and giggle, than anything else. “Doesn’t sunshine and summer weather sound great right now? Just the two of this?”

Max’s smile leveled a bit as the fireworks started to slow and burst in longer intervals. “Definitely. We could do that.” She hadn’t meant to sound tired.

Chloe squeezed her around the shoulders. “I just don’t want this to end, you know? I still feel...like I just got you back yesterday. A-And, I’m sure you’re just gonna get busier and busier with school and stuff and I want to make up for—”

“Hey,” Max cupped her jaw, brought Chloe down to look at her, smiled soft and sure. “I’m not going anywhere. Okay? I’m here right now. I’ll be here tomorrow. And then every day after that. We’ll last forever, remember?”

“Forever...that’s a long time.” her voice was a whisper, hovering on shaky wings in the cold air between them. Her eyes grew deeper, darker, stark against the moonlight glinting off her skin. Max kissed her, pressing their lips together like a promise, squeezing her hand like a confirmation:  _ no monsters under this bed, our bed, not so long as I’m here _ .

“Guess what, dork?” Max brushed aside blue strands, tucking some behind pink ears and others underneath a red ski cap. “That’s the idea.”


End file.
